1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a panel with an elongated, normally horizontal interlock useful for holding overlapping panels in engagement and presenting a pleasing ornamental appearance. More particularly, it is concerned with a panel having an improved interlock structure which provides improved attachment, increased durability, and greater rigidity to the panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vinyl and metal siding is used to provide a decorative and protective sheathing over buildings. The siding is typically nailed to the underlying structure, with successive overlapping courses of siding panels nailed to the building walls. Most typically, the siding presents the appearance of clapboards in lapping arrangement which provides a decorative appearance and sheds rain or other moisture.
It is desirable to provide an interlock structure to connect adjacent overlapping siding panels. A decorative siding interlock panel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Design 382,351, which provides a panel which includes an interlock but hides the interlock from the view of an observer when applied to a building. While this siding panel design has ornamental advantages, it is believed that structural improvements would enhance the performance of the panel in use.
Thus, there has developed a need for a siding panel which is not only attractive, but also provides improved rigidity, durability, and interlocking performance.
These objects have largely been solved by the siding panel of the present invention. That is to say, the siding panel hereof retains the attractive appearance of the prior art panel, but yields improved performance and resists damage during installation by providing a superior interlock design.
The siding panel hereof is preferably formed as an elongated panel presenting a nailing strip along the top with a receiver positioned just below the nailing strip in normal orientation. The receiver is configured to present a recess formed by bending the panel to project forwardly of the surface of the underlying structure and then returning in a pair of lower and upper bends forming a serpentine loop. A stretch portion of the panel projects downwardly and adjacent the surface of the underlying structure from the serpentine loop. One or more stretches extend downwardly to the bottom of the panel, which is provided with a projection for insertion in snap-fitting relationship with the receiver. The projection is formed by bending the panel inwardly toward the structure from the lowermost stretch, providing a second bend extending normally upwardly, and a third or return bend forming a hairpin with the free leg oriented normally downwardly and away from the top of the panel.
The projection preferably has a greater transverse dimension than the clearance between the lower bend and the stretch portion of the panel located above and adjacent thereto, so that an interference fitting is created. As a result, a positive and audible xe2x80x9csnapxe2x80x9d sound is created when the projection moves past the clearance into the receiver. Moreover, the free leg serves to bias the projection against the receiver of the next upper panel, to enhance the holding power of the connection. Because of this holding relationship, as the panel forming a part of an adjacent and upper course has its projection inserted into the receiver of the lower panel already nailed in place, the installer may use the interlock thereby created to hold the panel in position while retrieving a level, hammer or other tool before nailing the upper panel in place. This greatly facilitates the installation of the panels and reduces labor. Moreover, the configuration of the interlock permits easy discoinection between adjacent panels by simply pulling downwardly on the uppermost panel to release the connection. As an added benefit, the improved panel configuration has been found to provide substantial improvements in rigidity in resisting deflection of the panel, wherein testing has revealed improvements of up to 40% for 12 foot length panels. In addition, the rounded edge of the projection is less likely to catch or bind during insertion into the receiver, and less likely to break since the free edge, which typically thins out during manufacturing, is oriented away from the direction of insertion.
As a result, a superior panel is provided which provides both qualitative and quantitative levels of improvement over prior art panels. The benefits noted above and other improvements will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art with reference to the drawings and the attached description.